| DEFINITION OF
THE PROBLEM
There were three problems addressed by the consortium: the dearth of first-rate
scholarship helpful to practitioners; inadequate interactions among academic
institutions in New York City as well as between scholars and practitioners;
and the need to develop the next generation of scholars.
First, the IUCSHA addressed the substantive
need for new frameworks to understand the complex dynamics of violent
conflict, security issues, and humanitarian action. Better knowledge is
fundamental to advances in scholarship as well as improvements in the
delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection.
Second, the IUCSHA also sought to identify
and create more common ground between scholars and humanitarian and human
rights practitioners in New York City. During the course of dealing with
the crises of the 1990s, humanitarian agencies became “hungry”
for better knowledge about the crises to which they responded often without
adequate regional, linguistic, demographic, cultural, or geo-political
preparations. The quickening pace and expanding scope of crises has made
the need to learn lessons obvious and urgent. Research investigating the
nuts-and-bolts of security and humanitarian action yields information
and perspectives that underlie the substantial value of instituting structured
exchanges.
Third, the IUCSHA sought to develop the
next generation of professionals, academics, and scholars working on issues
of security and humanitarian action. To accomplish this the IUCSHA:
a) Provided the necessary intellectual infrastructure and financial resources
to attract eager and talented young minds.
b) Reduced the relative isolation of, and expanded cooperation and information
exchange among, graduate students and faculty in New York City working
on these issues.
c) Built bridges between younger academic analysts and the dense network
of humanitarian and human rights professionals in the city.
In short, the idea was to help stimulate and construct networks of younger
scholars whose own work would be helped with access to institutions and
data, just as the work of practitioners in NGO and UN agencies could be
enhanced with better social science analysis. The IUCSHA emphasized networking
and mentoring. There are numerous talks and seminars at each institution,
but too little participation by students and faculty from other universities.
The goal was not to offer yet another series of talks to attend, but rather
to create new interactions that make a difference and to make better use
of existing resources—to develop and utilize a network of resources
which coheres and complements the training of future scholars and professionals.
ACTIVITES: RESEARCH, FORUMS, AND NETWORK
The Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies served as the secretariat
for the Inter-University Consortium on Security and Humanitarian Action.
Key components of the consortium's initial activities included the following:
Research
Over the three-year period of the grant, research fellowships of up to
$10,000 were awarded to graduate students and recent PhD's to facilitate
research and policy analysis. The logic for advanced graduate students
was to use a fellowship to develop either a prospectus for a dissertation
(and thereby become more competitive for dissertation support awards)
or conduct fieldwork, archival research, or interviews. For post-docs
(less than two years after degree), the logic of a fellowship is to permit
either additional research to publish material from a dissertation or
to entice recent PhD’s to launch a new research agenda that is linked
to security and humanitarian action.
Forums
Prior to undertaking fieldwork, archival research, or interviews, grantees
and selected members of the Consortium Steering Committee participated
in a half-day colloquium at which new grantees received comments and suggestions
on their proposals as well as practical advice about logistics and research
methods. Following completion of the data collection phase of the fellowship,
grantees presented their findings at a public seminar. Terms of the grants
required attendance at the seminars by all grantees if they were in New
York; and a portion of the grant was withheld pending submission of polished
written products, including the materials intended for the sponsoring
agency. Discussants for each session included UN and NGO practitioners
and scholars.
Network
The IUCSHA website contains five types of resources useful to grantees.
First it is connected to HEART, a searchable database of links to significant
research on humanitarian emergencies and responses. Second, it links to
key agencies and or organizations. Third, it links to pertinent journals.
Fourth, it links to relevant research institutes. Fifth, it contains the
original research of previous Mellon Fellows.
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